Jackson Browne —
Saturate Before Using (first album)
album review

ALBUM REVIEW

There were two radio hits on Jackson Browne's first album (commonly called Saturate Before Using)—"Doctor My Eyes" and "Rock Me on the Water." Both are great songs, but overall, this album is less memorable for specific songs than it is as a general experience. It's deeply emotive, with songs that examine the human experience with such ease that the insights seem almost self-evident. Make no mistake, though—such apt, artful, non-nauseating communication of deep feelings is a goal that all '70s singer-songwriter artists sought but which few achieved. Most of the songs on Saturate Before Using feature Browne's smooth, plaintive voice accompanied only by acoustic guitar and piano, with smatterings of electric base and percussion to anchor the melodic passages. Overall, he achieves a good balance of timbre and tone; and, much in the way that the steel towers of a suspension bridge serve as anchor points in a much broader graceful structure, "Doctor My Eyes" and "Rock Me on the Water" serve as well known, easily accessible reference points in the relatively stark but beautiful song-scape on the rest of the album. Saturate Before Using is an admirable debut.